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Ben Hunt
Ben Hunt is a forward who joined Rovers in the summer of 2008 after having been released by West Ham United, and remained at the club for two years. Ben came through the academy setup at Upton Park and was a regular in the Hammers reserve side during the 2007-08 season, although he never made any first team appearances for the London club. He was unveiled as a Rovers player in a press conference on 3 July 2008, along with Darryl Duffy and Jeff Hughes, as well as youth team players Joe White, Ben Swallow and James Tyrell who were awarded their first professional contracts with the club. He went on to make twelve League appearances in his first season and another two in his second, all from the bench, before being sent out on loan to Gloucester City and then Newport County during the 2009-10 season. He was released by Rovers, along with thirteen other players, at the end of that campaign. Career Ben's competitive first team debut came on 16 August 2008 in a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion. He came on as a substitute for Darryl Duffy in the 72nd minute and although he failed to score he linked up well with Rickie Lambert. Prior to this he had featured in the first team's pre-season game against ADO Den Haag. Ben came off the bench for a number of games early in the 2008-09 season, and although he hadn't started a game his perfarmances were impressive enough to earn him a one-year extension to his contract on 25 October 2008, committing him to the club until 2010. In October 2009 Ben was due to be loaned out to Kingstonian in order to play some regular first team football, but shortly before the deal was completed Ben injured his ankle in a Rovers reserves match, forcing the deal to be cancelled. Two months later a loan deal was finally completed, with Ben heading off to Gloucester City, where he linked up with fellow Rovers loanee Mike Green. Another loan spell followed later in the same season, to Newport County, before he was released by Rovers in the summer of 2010. Following his release he moved back to the south-east and was signed by Conference South outfit Dover Athletic, before moving again in February 2011, this time to Lewes. His stay with Lewes was another brief one however, and he returned to the West Country in the summer of 2011 with Weston-super-Mare. By October he was off on his travels again, firstly for a second spell at Gloucester City, where his experience was limited to twice being an unused substitute in FA Cup matches, and then onto Thurrock and Cirencester Town, where he scored just two minutes into his debut. He ended the 2011–12 season with a five-game stint at Bishops Stortford. The beginning of the 2012–13 season saw a return to Gloucester City, but the move was short-lived and he was playing for Mangotsfield United by the end of October. He spent most of the season with the Mangos, returning for a fourth spell with Gloucester towards the end of the campaign. Career stats Record against Rovers Ben has never played against Bristol Rovers in a senior first team fixture. Category:Players Category:Forwards Category:23 January Category:Players born in 1990 Category:Players who joined in 2008 Category:West Ham United Category:Gloucester City Category:Newport County Category:Dover Athletic Category:Lewes Category:Weston-super-Mare Category:Cirencester Town Category:Bishops Stortford Category:Thurrock Category:Mangotsfield United